


In the Dark of the Night, People Will Find You

by SarahWritesThings



Series: Five Times Tony Met His Daughter (and One Time He Didn't) [1]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Post-Episode: s11e02 Past Present and Future, Reunion, Season 11 au, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:27:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26861377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahWritesThings/pseuds/SarahWritesThings
Summary: "His eyes traced the lines of the building, admiring the way the shadows appeared and disappeared on stonework at the lights glittered. He naturally found his living room windows, high above him. It took him a moment to register the uneasy feeling that suddenly clenched at his gut."
Relationships: Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Series: Five Times Tony Met His Daughter (and One Time He Didn't) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959589
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	In the Dark of the Night, People Will Find You

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't mean for the title to sound so ominous, I swear, but it turns out I remembered the lyrics wrong anyway so it doesn't matter(?). YOLO, I like it.

**December 10th, 2013**

Pulling into the parking lot, Tony stretched his neck, trying to relieve the tension. Despite the darkness, it was a still relatively early, especially by MCRT standards. It wasn’t quite eight, meaning he had a whole 12 hours until he had to be back in the office, assuming he didn’t get any middle-of-the-night calls. Maybe it could be an early Christmas present from the universe.

As if to remind him of upcoming holiday, his building was illuminated by twinkling lights, recently hung up by the property manager. It highlighted the area, combating the yellow hue of the streetlights.

His eyes traced the lines of the building, admiring the way the shadows appeared and disappeared on stonework at the lights glittered. He naturally found his living room windows, high above him.

It took him a moment to register the uneasy feeling that suddenly clenched at his gut.

Instinctively, he shifted into _agent mode_ , his hand expertly moving to cover his gun, still strapped to his belt. Carefully, he canvassed the area around him. Trying to feign ease as he walked up and down the cars, checking for anyone hiding in the shadows.

But it was quiet, save for a distant chorus of _Jingle Bells_ and the chatter of voices from the bar down the street. Instead, he shifted his focus back to the building, trying to retrace his previous attention. It only took him a moment to zero in on his living room windows, where the faintest light illuminated the creases of his drawn blinds.

He racked his brains, thinking back to that morning when he got ready for work. It had been light when he woke up, so he hadn’t needed to turn on any lights, except for in his bathroom. But that light wasn’t possible bright enough to shine all the way through to his living room.

Tony made his way towards the entrance of the building, where he could get a better view of his kitchen window, but it was dark, no sign of anything amiss.

He weighed his options, on one hand, he was probably being irrational. He had probably flicked on a light without registering it and subsequently forgotten to turn it off when he left. On the other hand….

He pulled his pocket out of his phone, dialing the call without taking his eyes away from the window.

_“Hey Tony.”_

“McGee, how fast can you get to my apartment?”

_“Five, ten minutes tops, why?”_

“I could be wrong, but I think someone’s broken in.”

Tony swore he heard the slightest tire squeal as McGee replied, _“got it.”_

The line cut off, and Tony couldn’t help but smile a little to himself, glad that he and McGee had left the office at the same time.

He stood vigil at the entrance to his building, keeping one eye on his window and the other on the street, waiting for McGee’s arrival.

It took four minutes for his headlights to swing into the parking lot, and another 30 seconds for him to appear at Tony’s side.

“Any update?” he asked, without greeting.

“No.” Tony nodded up to the window he’d been watching, “no sign of movement, but I’m sure I left all the lights off.”

“Any chance you had a cleaner in today?”

“Nope.”

McGee sighed, pulling out his weapon. “You’re lead.”

As quietly as possible, Tony opened the front door, heading into the building. Rather than taking the elevator, he led the way to the stairs. Naturally, Tony expected someone to be lurking around each corner, waiting to ambush them, but the hallways were deserted.

When they approached his door, McGee whispered, “no obvious damage to the lock.”

Sure enough, Tony’s key slid in without a problem, and the door unlocked with ease. He slowly pushed the door open, gun held up, just in case, but nothing unusual jumped out at him, though the mystery light turned out to be the one directly above the door.

They swept the living room and the kitchen, silently checking every possible hiding spot, but there weren't very many possible locations in his small apartment. So they began to make their way down to hall, to Tony’s bedroom. As they approached, Tony’s gut only screamed louder, pushing him forward.

Tony and McGee made eye contact, just outside the ajar door, and McGee nodded in response to Tony’s outstretched hand. Quickly, Tony stepped into the room, reaching beside him to flick on the light.

To his surprise, the only movement came from his bed, where a pile of blankets shifted slightly.

Not the first choice for most intruders.

The pair of investigators stilled, waiting for any further response from the apparently napping intruders, but nothing happened. With another silent confirmation, they moved silently towards the bed, gun aimed at the protentional danger.

Until Tony’s brain processed the unmistakable mass of dark curls spread over his pillow.

“Ziva?”

She jerked awake, and Tony expertly caught her arm before it had a chance to make painful contact with his body.

“It’s me,” he told her softly.

Ziva blinked at him, her body rigid as she stared at him.

But then her shoulders sagged, and she whispered his name back.

Despite himself, Tony sunk onto the mattress and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her upright and burying his head in her hair. He was relieved when she hugged him back, even as he felt her heart hammering, reverberating in his own chest.

From behind them, he heard McGee snicker.

Ziva pulled away at this, and they both turned to look at him. "Hello Tim."

He grinned, "it's good to see you."

"You as well.” She pushed her hair away from her face. “I am sorry I did not say goodbye, when I left."

But McGee waved a hand. "I'm sure you had a lot on your mind. Don't worry about it."

"Still, I should have called. You deserved better."

Tony's attention drifted back to Ziva, whose forehead creased as she her spoke.

McGee gave a thankful smile which quickly turned into a smirk as he addressed Tony, "I suppose I'll head out, seeing as you don't need back up anyone."

Ziva turned back to him, her eyes wide. "Back up?"

"There was an intruder in my apartment," Tony answered simply, letting a smile take over his face.

Ziva blushed brilliantly, though it was quickly obscured as she covered her face. "Of course, I should have realized."

"Doesn't matter,” McGee patted her on the shoulder, “I'm glad I got to see you."

Her shoulders relaxed slightly, as she nodded feverently, "we will get lunch together, to catch up."

"Definitely."

"I'll show myself out. Goodnight _you two._ "

Tony could feel McGee trying to hide his laughter, but he didn't care.

"Night, McGee."

They both listened to his footsteps travel down the hall and the door clicking open and closed.

Every fiber of Tony’s being told him to stay where he was, to stay rooted in her presence and warmth, but the more rational part of his mind reminded him that he was still wearing his overcoat, with his gun held firmly in his hand.

“Are you…” he shook his head, trying to organize his thoughts, “…stay please.”

“I am not going anywhere.”

He took one last long look at her, her tired, warm eyes, her wild hair surrounding her face, then he forced himself to turn away. He tried not to _run_ down the hallway, but couldn’t help himself from moving distinctly faster than normal.

He threw his coat onto the sofa, locked the door, and disarmed his weapon, all without stopping his movement once. He nearly tripped over his sneakers, which he had stupidly left in the middle of the floor the weekend before, but he managed to stay on his feet. When he skidded back into the bedroom doorway, Ziva was still there, now propped against the headboard, wringing her fingers together.

Tony let out a long breathe, and she slowly looked up at him.

He leaned against the doorframe, trying desperately to express some ease that he definitely wasn’t feeling. “So, how have you been?”

The small smile crossed Ziva’s face, “I have been well. I have been travelling, reading.”

Tony felt himself nodding idly, once again captivated by her presence. He opened his mouth, but what the hell did you say when the love of your life made a reappearance like this?

She prompted him instead, “how are you?”

This time the response presented itself. “I missed you like hell.”

Ziva softened, her head tilting slightly to the side. “I have missed you as well.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.”

He tried to come up with a witty retort, but the burning question tumbled out of his mouth instead.

“Why?”

Ziva broke eye contact, instead watching the comforter as her hands played with it idly. “Do I need a reason to want to see you?”

In years gone by he might have accepted this non-answer and kept their banter running, but those days were long gone.

“I mean, why now?”

She sighed, “Adam came to spend Hanukkah with me. He convinced me that I needed to come see you, to tell you…”

Something in her voice set him on edge, a pressure that he hadn’t heard since the before their stint in the elevator.

“Tell me what?”

She looked back up at him. “That I am pregnant.”

Tony’s mind seemed to go into freefall. It felt like he was watching her sitting alone, in an interrogation room.

He crossed his arms, “Oh, I see… so when are you going back?”

“What?”

“When are you going back to Adam?” He chuckled mirthlessly, “I wouldn’t like my pregnant girlfriend being overseas without me, but that’s me, I guess.”

Ziva blinked at him, her expression shifting from shock to confusion to anger, finally resulting in a decidedly neutral set. “No, Tony. Adam is not my boyfriend, and he is not the father.”

“He isn’t?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Oh…then who?”

“You, Tony.”

What had been terminal velocity suddenly froze. His vision darkened, and he probably stopped breathing at the same time. His traitorous brain reminded him of the glorious hours they had spent together, wrapped up in the warm Israeli evening.

He had obviously been still for far too long, because Ziva suddenly appeared beside him, concern all over her face.

“Tony?”

“Are you… are you serious?”

“Yes.”

His brain was trying to catch up, “when did you find out?”

“A week ago. After you left, I was tired... I was not taking care of myself.” She moved away from him, headed back to the bed, where she sat crossed-legged. “When Adam arrived for Hanukkah, he insisted I go to the doctor. I thought she would say I just needed to eat better, but she immediately suspected a pregnancy.”

Tony followed her, perching on the foot of the bed so he could face her. “And?”

“Adam reminded me… he said I had to tell you, as soon as possible.”

It wasn't hard to read between the lines. “You didn’t want to?”

“I do not know what I want.”

The gut-punch threw him off balance, unexpectedly strong. “You don’t want to have this baby?”

Ziva seemed to freeze, almost as if the concept of a baby hadn’t actually occurred to her.

She paused, staring at him, then turned the question turned it back to him, “do you?”

Despite himself, an image flashed into his mind. A little toddler with wild brown curls and mischievous eyes. Their _child_.

“Yes,” he answered instinctively.

Ziva watched him carefully, "you do not like children."

"They're grown on me," he responded evenly. "Besides, we're talking about a little David-DiNozzo, not just any kid."

She shifted at this, once again twisting her hands anxiously.

He reached out for them, forcing them to still. "What are you thinking?"

"I am just remembering."

"What?"

"Once, many years ago, Gibbs asked me if I wanted to have children."

"What did you tell him?"

"That I did not have a simple answer."

"And now?"

A wave of tears appeared in her eyes. "If anything life is more complicated now."

"What do you mean?"

"I left for a reason, Tony, you know that. I do not know how to be a _mother_."

"And I don't have any idea how to be a father."

"But you are a good man, and you will be an amazing father."

Tony wanted to laugh at the idea, but his self-doubt seemed to be pushed to the back-burner but a new, warm feeling in his chest.

 _Father_.

“I’ll figure it out.”

Of course, there would be so much to figure out. Would Ziva stay in D.C.? Would Tony go to Israel? Somehow, he didn’t care. Whatever it took to keep their family together was fine by him.

 _Family_.

He pulled her hands close to his chest, “we’ll figure it out.”

What was threatening under the surface now burst out, and Ziva began crying, silent even as her shoulders shook slightly.

Tony scooted closer to her and, once again, held her close, his hands stroking her back gently.

After a few minutes, she whispered into his chest, "I am sorry, Tony."

"Don't be."

But she pushed herself away from him, opting to sit up and place her hands on his shoulders.

"I must."

"Zi-"

"I have hurt you, so many times and in a thousand different ways."

"I haven't exactly been a saint either. We've got to stop doing that, agreed?"

She chuckled softly, "agreed."

"Good, because we're going to need a united front."

"As parents?"

"No, for Gibbs. I mean, we've completely trashed Rule 12."

Tony was glad when she started crying of laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> Subscribe to [the series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959589) for all the fluffly, angsty goodness.


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